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Abigail Gay, Clever Rivera, Simone Owens
October 8th, 2023
BIOL 3 - 34090

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The Chaparral biome is characterized as being very dry and hot with very mild winters. The annual average temperature range is between 30° and 100° F, with the average temperature in the coldest months being 64° F, thus making fires and droughts common.

Most of the biome receives approximately 10-17" of rainfall, and up to 40" at high elevation locations in the winter.

The Chaparral communities occur Mediterranean-type climates, which can be found along the west side of continents with westerly winds, such as in California, Chile, Spain, South Africa, and Australia. Also, the biome can be categorized into three types, each with varying elevations:

Chamise-Redshank Elevation = 4,000 feet
Coastal Scrub Elevation = 3,000 feet
Mixed Chaparral Elevation = 5,000 feet
Montane Elevation = 3,000 to 10,000 feet

Chaparral occurs upon thin, porous, and rocky soils that are considered low in nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous.

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Interesting Fact: These jackrabbits can regulate their body heat by increasing or decreasing the blood flow through their ears, which helps the animal absorb heat or cool off.

Ecological Role: This species constantly eat and do not require much water, as they meet most of their water needs from the plant material they consume. They primarily practice herbivory as they consume twigs, young bark, and cacti. This grazing also makes the brush more manageable, limiting the spread of unnecessary fires (not the fires that are useful for this biome).

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Interesting Fact: Chamise has an extensive root system, with the main roots having been excavated at a depth of around 25 feet.

Ecological Role: Chamise has small, resinous leaves that are highly flammable during the dry season, yet burning is disadvantageous to Chamise. This would indicate that this is beneficial to another species that needs the fire, indicating an almost commensalism relationship. It is also a victim of predation.

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Interesting Fact: The ability for this bacteria to take in nitrogen from the atmosphere and pass it on to the plant, allows the plants to grow in soil low in nitrogen, which is seeing the chaparral biome.

Ecological Role: Rhizobia are a bacteria that fix nitrogen after becoming established inside the root nodules of legumes. This aids in the nitrogen cycle and exemplifies a symbiotic relationship as the bacteria fixes the nitrogen and the plant is able to use this.

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An example of uniform dispersion in population 

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The Salvia Leucophylla plant is a good example of Uniform dispersion. This sage plant releases a toxin that kills the plant in its nearby vicinity. Sage plants create an empty area around them because the toxins they release make the nearby soil unsuitable for other plants to grow. This results in a clear space around the sage where nothing else can thrive.

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An example of clumped dispersion in population 

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elephants they demonstrate clumped distribution. This distribution pattern is common among species in which individuals gather into groups for positive interactions with predators or to increase hunting efficiency. The reason why these elephants are in this type of distribution is due to their traveling in herds and their social relationship as well as their having to live in national parks in order for them to remain safe and out of harm's way now that their habitat is being destroyed.

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An example of a Random dispersion in the population

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random dispersion comes from dandelions and other plants that have wind-dispersed seeds. The seeds spread widely and sprout where they happen to fall, as long as the environment is favorable—has enough soil, water, nutrients, and light.

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Gestation and Nesting: The gestation period ranges from 41 to 47 days.

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What is the sexual maturity of an lepus californicus

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What is the sexual maturity of an lepus californicus

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They grow rather rapidly and reach adult size in about 7-8 months. Sexual maturity is attained at about the same time, but young females do not breed until early in the year following their birth.

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How many offspring are usually produced?What type of survivorship curve does this organism produce

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How many offspring are usually produced?What type of survivorship curve does this organism produce

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Black-tailed Jackrabbits mate year-round. They have one to four litters per year with one to eight young per litter. They have type III survivorship.

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Human actions in the Chaparral, a type of natural environment, have caused problems like diverting water, building dams, and introducing invasive plants and animals. These activities have harmed the area and put many species at risk of extinction, including the California condor. People are hurting the plants and animals in this place by building things like houses and roads. These actions destroy their homes and only help humans, without thinking about how it affects the whole environment.

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what is being done to fix the human disturbances for chaparral biome

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what is being done to fix the human disturbances for chaparral biome

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Most efforts to restore chaparral have involved letting nature recover on its own by removing things that harm it, like fire or human disturbance, so that plants, animals, and soil can heal naturally. it means taking steps to stop non-native plants and animals that are causing problems from taking over and harming the natural environment.

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In the Chaparral biome, the food web flows starting with grasses, then producers such as rabbits and even smaller organisms like ants and other various insects. Next would be primary consumers like hyenas and wrens specifically cactus wren, then lastly would come secondary consumers which could include pumas and foxes.

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World Rangeland Learning Experience, Retrieved from,
https://wrangle.org/ecotype/north-american-california-chaparral#:~:text=Most%20chaparral%20vegetation%20occurs%20on,soils%20to%20shallow%2C%20rocky%20soils.

Nature Collective. Retrieved from,
https://naturecollective.org/plant-guide/details/chamise/#:~:text=Like%20many%20chaparral%20species%2C%20chamise,rapid%20resprouting%20after%20a%20wildfire.

Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved from,
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Lepus_californicus/

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In the winter the Chaparral climate, also known as the Mediterranean climate, is mild and moist, but not rainy. During the summer it is very hot and dry. The temperature is usually mild but it can get very hot or nearly freezing. The temperature range is between 30° and 100° F.

This biome only gets about 10-17 inches of rain all year, and most of it comes in the winter. Because of the long period of dryness in the summer, only plants with hard leaves can survive, such as scrub oaks, chamiso shrubs, pines, cork and olive trees. Many leaves are also hairy so they can collect the moisture out of the air and use it.

There are many fires in the chaparral because of the heat and dryness. Some plants have adapted even to the fires. Their seeds will lie dormant until there is a fire. Their seed casings will crack and the seed will sprout only then.

Chaparrals exist in a mid-latitude climate and lie in a belt of prevailing westerly winds. This is why chaparrals tend to be on the west sides of continents. It is classified under Köppen's climate classification system as Cs. The C stands for warm temperature climates, where the average temperature of the coldest months is 64° F. The s stands for a dry season in the summer of the hemisphere it is in.

Chaparrals can be found from 30° to 50° N and 30° to 40° S latitudes. The chaparral climate occurs in central and southern coast of California; the coast areas of the Mediterranean Sea; coastal western and southern Australia; the Chilean coast in South America, and the Cape Town region of South Africa.

2000
bibliography:
"Chaparral", New Book of Knowledge 1998 ed.

"Climate Zones", Encarta CD-Rom Encyclopedia, (Microsoft Corporation) 1995 ed.

"Chaparral Climates", New Book of Knowledge, 2000 ed.

The Mediterranean chaparral has a very interesting climate. It has four seasons. These are spring, summer, fall, and winter. The chaparral has significantly hot and dry summers. Fog off the ocean is the only source of moisture during the summer. It has cool and moist winters with tropical storms bringing lots of rain. Spring and fall are usually a mix between both summer and winter, with a moderate amount of rain and heat.

The vegetation is mostly made up of shrubs. These include evergreen shrubs and most deciduous forms of shrub. Some of the adaptations of the vegetation are that the yucca rosette shape defends the growth in the inside of the bulbs from ruin except from extremely hot fires. Another adaptation of the vegetation is that the pinecone resin, which coats the closed-cone pines melts and allows the cones to open and spread their seeds. Also, the small, leathery leaves of thyme, oregano, and rosemary keep the moisture in the leaves. Leaves and branches are usually hairy to trap moisture from fog and rain, and to insulate them from the high heat in the summer.

The fauna is very interesting. Some of the adaptations of the Mediterranean chaparral fauna are that they don't need a lot of water. They have learned to live in their biome by being nocturnal, and are usually small.

What I find interesting about my biome's climate is its natural forest fires. These are caused by two things. One is the shortage of rain in the chaparral during the summer. Another is that many types of shrubs and flora are aromatic, like sage, thyme, rosemary, and oregano. These hold highly flammable oils. Did you know that the chaparral burns out every 30-40 years?

There is very little precipitation in the Mediterranean chaparral. The average annual precipitation is 10-20 inches in the form of rain. The average rainfall for the entire winter is 6.8 inches. The average rainfall for spring is 2.2 inches. The average rainfall for summer is .2 inches. The average rainfall for fall is 4.2 inches.

The average annual temperature is 59 ° F. The highest temperatures can reach 91°F, and the lowest temperature 37°F. The average temperature for winter is 46°F, while the average temperature for summer is 71°F. Average temperature for spring is 56°F, and the average temperature for fall is 65°F. Summers are dry and hot while the winters are somewhat cool and moist.

The latitude range for the Mediterranean chaparral climate is between 30° and 40° North. Köppen's climate-classification letter code for the chaparral is Csa. Cs stands for a mild, humid climate with a dry season in the summer of the respective hemisphere. The a means the summers are hot with the warmest month over 72°F.

by Sarah Nelson, 2001
bibliography:
"Loomis Climate Profile" http://www.ppgn.com/lolwprofile.html, (11/20/00)

"Mediterranean Shrublands" http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/medit/medit.html (11/6/01)

"Biomes and Soils", http://www.tesarta.com/www/resources/library/biomes.html (11/6/00)

"Mediterranean Chaparral" http://www.doc.mmu.ac/uk/aric/eae/climate/older/mediterraneanclimate.html 11/7/00

The word Chaparral comes from the Spanish word, "chaparro" meaning scrub oak. It is found in the coastal areas in California. Chaparral climate/ Mediterranean climate, or scrub climate, is a hot, dry, and mild climate in summer with rainy and cool winters. The summers are so hot that there are frequent fires and dry spells. Consequently, these regions are dominated by fire-adapted shrubs, the most important being manzanita and chamise. Tall shrubs with leathery leaves or needles such as red shank, sage, mountain mahogany, Christmasberry, California scrub oak, and many different kinds of ceanothus are common in these areas. Coniferous forests, and chaparral often alternate near the shore and on mountains. Chaparral occurs on slopes facing south, and in drier areas.

The animals that live in this environment have also adapted to the frequent fires and long dry spells, because they learned how to find water, and conserve it. These include invertebrates, birds, reptiles,and mammals such as Bewick's wren, California quail California striped racer snake, northern red diamond rattle snake, orange-throated whiptail lizard, pocket mouse, deer mouse, kangaroo rats, chipmunk, rabbit, fox, deer, coyote, lynx, and mountain lion.

Chaparral is found also in the mountains, and the average mountain temperature in Southern California is from 32-60 °F , getting colder the higher up you go. Along the coast, temperatures average 53-65 °F. Freezing weather may sometimes occur in the winter, but only for a little while.

Most of the 12-40 inches per year of precipitation is in the form of rain: fall, winter, and spring receiving equal amounts. Any snow that may fall in the winter melts very quickly. The precipitation also increases in elevation. During the summer, places along the coastline usually get more moderate weather and more moisture from fog than interior regions.

Geographers, and climatologists identify different biomes by their Köppen symbol. The biomes are identified by both big and small lettering. The larger letters, stand for the group that the biome belongs to. The Köppen symbol for Chaparral/hot grasslands is Csa. Cs stands for a mild humid climate with a dry summer. Precipitation in the driest month is less than 1 inch. The wettest month of winter gets 3-4 inches of rain. 70% of the average annual precipitation falls in the six months of winter. a stands for hot summers with the hottest month over 72°F

The California Chaparral climate is found at latitude 35-40° North, and longitude is 118-123° West.

by Marina S. 2002
Bibliography:
"Chaparral Animal Printouts" http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/chaparral/chaparral.shtml (13 November 2001)

"M262 California Coastal Range Open Woodland--Shrub--coniferous Forest&emdash;Meadow Province." http://www.fs.fed.us/colorimagemap/images/m262.html (November 2001).

"Koppen Climate Map", http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa011700a.htm (13 November 2001)

"Biomes and Soils." http://www.tesarta.com.www/resources/library/biomes.html, (November2001).

"Koppen Climate Classifacation" http://www.csupomona.edu/~ldechano/geo101/koppen1.htm (January 2002)

Strahler,Authur N. and Strahler, Alan H. Elements of Phisical Geology. John Wiley and Sons, New York. 1984.

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In the winter the Chaparral climate, also known as the Mediterranean climate, is mild and moist, but not rainy. During the summer it is very hot and dry. The temperature is usually mild but it can get very hot or nearly freezing. The temperature range is…